Hello need Help and advice please

[heli]

Hi I'm new to the site and wanted to say hello to all ..... i have 1200 gallon pond and 20 Koi . untill last night all was fine.... . fish seem to happy , swimming and eating even smiling!
This Morning i wake up to a totally changed pond .... water is very murky almost black fish are down at the bottom moving .... but and Not coming up to eat ....
i'm wondering how can this happen so quick ? and if anyone have any idea as what is the reason ? and how to solve the problem .

Thanks

 

[HTH]

Lost my crystal ball.

Can you identify what the black stuff in the water is.

Could a raccoon been by to stir up muck from the bottom?

How long has the fish been in the pond.

Have you tested the water for ammonia nitrites and nitrate pH.

20 koi are going to be too much for the pond when they grow if they are not already

Picture.

I would move fast on this.

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forums! As HTH suggests more info would definitely help here

 

[heli]

Hi not sure as why the dark murky water appear overnight ..... the fish are 3 years in the pound and are roughly 6 to 12 inches long and No i never tested the water before , this is the first time in 3 years i had a problem . normally they are very eager to eat and almost eat from my hands . guess i'll try and empty the pond and clean it. to see if the problem is solved !

 

[ididntdoit99]

Don't do that! stop!
Let the people here help you before you drain the whole pond a refill it. Look up new pond or new aquarium syndrome, not something you want to deal with right now.

 

[heli]

Hi and thanks again for the advice i got from you guys ...... i ended up draining the pond taking the fish out and replacing the water .... fish seem very happy to return to normal pond life . even the bullfrog and his lady are back !

one more question please ...... How much do you feed 20 large Koi about 12 inch each ? and how often ?

Thanks

 

[MikeKoi4Life77]

I too have about a 1400 gallon pond and like you also have a lot of fish. I realize that when my koi get about 14" (which is close) that I will eventually have to add on to my pond. But in the meantime, with the large amount of fish that I have in there I know it requires a lot of filtration. I think you may need some more filtration in the means of plants. I found that cala lillies can grow in the water along the edges, I put water hyacinth in there as well along with water lettuce, frog bit, elephant ear, and some plant that produces purple flowers. But the best thing I did was build an aquaponics grow bed. I pump the water out of my pond into a grow bed filled with gravel medium and various yummy plants and herbs. When the water level in the box reaches a certain height the bell syphon kicks in and forces all the water back out into the pond where I have another pot filled with lava rock and a tomato plant. The water is rich in nutrients and oxygen from all the fish, so your plants will grow 10x's faster, and at the same time filtering out your water while growing your food. Ive never had to turn on my UV clarifier since, and now that Im a hippie maybe ill grow one of those stupid pony tails.

 

[MikeKoi4Life77]

Btw if your fish are at the bottom then that is a good sign in my oppinion, because that means there is plenty of oxygen in the pond and your pump is prolly giving you the right turn over. I say throw in some plants and even some crawfish, but definitely plants. Ive never had to drain my pond, but in the begining I did experience a lot of problems with green water, your pond may just need some time to balance itself out. But definitely look into aquaponics, its just another hobby to add on to this one and relatively inexpensive and actually beneficial to you and your fish.

 

[MikeKoi4Life77]

And if your fish were at the bottom because they were scared by some critter, then thats even more of a reason to throw in some plants for them to hide under. Good luck, Ive got to go put some Rogaine on my ponytail.

 

[Dave 54]

Stick round as you have alott to learn about koi.
they are extremely long lived our experts say 80 years is around their livespan, we have two in our own pond in their 27th year so I can attest tho that myself.
Koi gan be somewhat delicate fish and dont like to be messed around much and a total waterchange of the pond is in the much bracket.
Asking how much to feed your koi tells m that you may already know where the black murky water came from.
We have 16 or so koi we feed throughout the day a handful at a time but the rule of thumb is what they can eat in 5 minutes.
.

rgrds

Dave

 

[HTH]

Lots of opinions here.

Given that the water change made the fish happy I would say it was a water problem, and that changing it was better then not. Water changes if done properly are generally not a problem. Many of the fancy goldfish gurus do twice weekly 100% water changes and use no filtration. I expect their fish are every bit as delicate as koi. At least koi have a body that looks like a fish. Even if the change made the koi uncomfortable they are better off then in the old water.

The pond is 3 years old so I expect the filters are cycled. Best guess is that overloading the pond caused problems. Could have been an excess of nitrates, DOC or whatever and the change fixed that.

I urge heli to start testing now and continue until he is sure the pond is stable.

 

[MikeKoi4Life77]

I agree with you HTH, not enough filtration to handle the amount of fish producing the amount of ammonia/nitrates that they are. You might have to feed them less, excess food in the water could cause it too. I can overfeed my fish because of the amount of plant filtration I have, wouldnt recomend doing that otherwise.

 

[Dave 54]

I also urge you to work out a weekly maintenance program of partial water changes plus look into cleaning your filter on a regular basis.
Koi might look like fish yes but even so there is a price to pay in that koi have a very small gene pool.
This can make them susceptable to having an impared immune system.

rgrds

Dave

 

[callingcolleen1]

Your fish may have made a mess spawning and dug up a pond plant in the process, causing the water to go murky. They also are not too interested in eating when they are spawining.

 

[HTH]

I also urge you to work out a weekly maintenance program of partial water changes plus look into cleaning your filter on a regular basis.
Koi might look like fish yes but even so there is a price to pay in that koi have a very small gene pool.
This can make them susceptable to having an impared immune system.

rgrds

Dave

I agree and suggest that the water change schedule be worked on based on info from testing.

Dave I just do not see koi as being more fragile then fancy goldfish where line breeding is the norm. As far as I know shipping and poor water quality often impare the immune system of both. I do not see where koi should be any less tolerant of water changes done properly. But I will admit it is a lot harder to do a proper change on 1000s of gallons of water. A few hundred is not so bad.